New data taken from the DVSA shows that around 580,000 cars aged between 1 and 3 years on the road today have a dangerous fault. This means that they would all fail their MOT but because they don’t need one until their third year, many faults are going unnoticed.
Why Are So Many Dangerous Cars on The Road?
Many people believe that because their car is new, it should all be in working order. Surely if you don’t need an MOT until the third year, that means your car is safe to drive, right? Unfortunately, we know all too well that this isn’t always the case.
Dangerous faults include things like a loose steering wheel that is likely to detach or no functioning brake lights. These pose a huge risk to drivers and need to be fixed immediately. Any cars with a dangerous defect become instantly illegal to drive. The garage you visit can’t physically stop you from driving away, but if you do you are driving illegally and putting yourself and others at risk.
What Are the Dangerous Car Stats?
All the data below has been gathered from an FOI (Freedom of Information) request to the DVSA.
- 2,153,400 three-year-old cars on the road first registered in 2018, of which an estimated 13% would fail their first MOT
- 2,126,200 two-year-old cars on the road first registered in 2019, of which an estimated 9.3% would fail their first MOT
- 1,534,900 one-year-old cars on the road first registered in 2020, of which an estimated 6.8% would fail their first MOT
How Does Age Compare with MOT Failure Rates?
Unsurprisingly, the older the car is, the more likely it is to fail its MOT because after years of use items begin to wear and fail. Last year, 40% of 12-year-old cars failed their MOT. Data shows that the age at which cars are most likely to fail is 16 years old and over with a failure rate of nearly 47%. However, cars older than this then had a lower failure rate of 44%. This is suspected to be because these cars are considered as ‘classic motors’ so more TLC is given to them.
What Does This Mean for New Car Drivers?
Our best advice would be to please be persistent in caring for your car. Just because your car is fairly new, that doesn’t mean that everything is in perfect condition – a lot can happen in the three years before your first MOT. Even if you have the fanciest car that can pick up and warn you of the slightest issue. There’s nothing like giving your car a good look over every once in a while. Plus, catching an issue early will save you hundreds in repair bills too.
If you are unsure about the condition of your car, we can offer you a free vehicle health check that checks 12 points around your car including oil and coolant levels, brake fluid moisture content and much more. None of these checks are included in the standard MOT test so this provides extra peace of mind.
How Can CCM Help?
As well as offering a free vehicle health check, we are also able to do all your MOTs, servicing and repair work for you too. Click on our What We Do page to see just some of the work we can do for you! Don’t worry if what you need isn’t on the list, just give us a call and we’re sure we can help you get back on the road safely.